275 separate waterfalls across nearly three kilometres of jungle escarpment. Two countries, two national parks, and you need both.
What it is
The Iguazú River drops off the edge of the Paraná Plateau in a curved escarpment nearly three kilometres wide, breaking into somewhere between 150 and 300 separate falls depending on the water level. The tallest, the Devil’s Throat, is 82 metres and takes about half the river’s volume through a horseshoe you can stand directly above.
By flow rate it is one of the largest waterfall systems on earth — bigger than Niagara by a wide margin and wider than Victoria Falls. Eleanor Roosevelt is supposed to have seen it and said “poor Niagara”.
The border between Argentina and Brazil runs through it, and Paraguay is twenty minutes away, which is why the town is called the Triple Frontier.
The two sides
Brazil (Parque Nacional do Iguaçu) gives you the view of the falls. A single 1.5km walkway along the opposite bank builds up to a panorama of the whole escarpment, ending on a catwalk out into the spray beneath the Devil’s Throat. Three to four hours. It is the photograph.
Argentina (Parque Nacional Iguazú) puts you in them. About 80 per cent of the falls are on this side, and a network of upper and lower circuits plus a small train takes you along, above and underneath them for a full day. The walkway to the top of the Devil’s Throat, where the river simply disappears in front of you, is the single most impressive twenty minutes.
Doing one side only is the most common mistake. If you truly have one day, choose Argentina.
Practical
Crossing the border between the towns is routine — a bus or taxi over the Tancredo Neves bridge — but you do get stamped in and out, so carry your passport and check whether your nationality needs a Brazilian or Argentine visa. This catches people out who assumed a day trip did not count.
Boat trips run on both sides and take you under the falls; you will be soaked to the skin, and dry bags are sold everywhere for a reason.
Water levels vary enormously. December to March is the wet season and the falls are at their most violent; the Devil’s Throat catwalk on the Argentine side has been closed by flooding for weeks at a time. August to November has clearer weather and lower flow, which means more visible rock and better photographs.
Coatis — raccoon-like and entirely fearless — will take food out of your hands and bite. Do not feed them.
Around it
Parque das Aves on the Brazilian side is a rescue and breeding centre for Atlantic Forest birds, in walk-through aviaries, and is much better than it sounds.
Itaipu Dam, twenty minutes away, was the largest hydroelectric plant in the world until Three Gorges and runs tours.
